QUANTIFIERS - Large Quantity

Large quantity quantifiers

Much and many:

Much 用於不能數的名詞（Uncountable and always be singular）; many 用於可數的名詞.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 在現代英語口語，much和many不經常用作肯定句(affirmative statement)的量詞，它們較多用在疑問句和否定的語境。

Examples: 1. I have many reasons for thinking that this man is innocent. 

可以接受的，但比較正式。大多數英文人會講：I have plenty of / a lot of / ample / reasons for thinking .....

2. Much whisky is of very good quality. 

這句話technically是可以接受的，但在口語不太可能。大多數人會說: A lot of whisky / A good proportion of whisky / Plenty of whisky ......

3. He has much money 

這句不太正統。 會說: He has a lot of money / He has loads of money.

4. Much of what you have written is very good. 

"much of" 這表達方法在這affirmative的環境是可以的; 在比較formal的語境中，幾下講法或寫法較理想：A lot of what you have written.....A good deal of what you have written.....

With so and too

Examples: 1. There is so much poverty in the world

2. There are too many people in here

Lots of, a lot of, plenty of, a large number of, numerous

這些表達方法或多或少都是同義詞。在上面的列表中，它們由最非正式（lots of）到最正式（numerous）依次排列。

記住：盡量避免使用much / many在肯定的語句 (affirmative statement)。雖然不是錯，但在現代英語立場來説，它往往聽起來很正式，古老或奇怪。另一方面，有時在肯定語境使用much of / many of; so much / so many和 too much / too many是完全可以接受的。

---Uncountable Nouns---

Uncountable Noun指實質或概念無法分割的名詞, 不可數, 無單、複數可言。

Uncountable Nouns包括物質、抽象和專有名詞等。

例子：

news (新聞)

advice (諮詢、忠告)

information (資訊)

work (工作)

travel (旅遊)

weather (天氣)

luggage (行李)

progress (進展) love (愛)

money (金錢)

furniture (傢俱)

homework (作業)

water (水)

tea (茶)

bread (麵包)

milk (牛奶)

wealth (財富)

attention (注意力)

electricity (電)

research (研究)

knowledge (知識)

evidence (證據)

【Countable Nouns】

Countable Nouns可數名詞

• They have a singular and a plural form.
• The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an"
• Singular Countable Noun needs to have a determiner; Plural Countable Noun cannot use with the articles ‘a’ / ‘an’.
• It's important to distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns in English because their usage is different in regards to both determiners and verbs. 名詞前面使用何種冠詞與該名詞是「可數名詞」或「不可數名詞」有著密切的關係。

Example 1 • I ate orange this morning. • I ate an orange this morning. 單數可數名詞前面需加 a/an • I like oranges. 複數可數名詞前面通常不加article

Example 2 • I study English very hard and I usually get the best grades on the English tests. • I study English very hard and I usually get the best grades on English tests. ‘tests’ 是Plural Countable Noun，前面通常不加article， 除非是特別指明哪個tests，就要用 ’the’

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有些字既可以當Countable又可以用作Uncountable。

Example 1 – Trouble 1. I got into trouble (uncountable). 2. She had many troubles (countable).

Example 2 – Hair 1. He’s going to have his hair (uncountable) cut. 2. I’m getting a few grey hairs (countable) now.

******************************************************************************************************** 我們也可以將 a few 和 many 用在Plural Countable Noun上

1. A few weeks ago, I was very sick. 2. How many brothers do you have? 3. We exchanged a few civilities. 我們相互寒暄了幾句。 ‘a few' +plural 'civilities' = 客套, 寒暄。

【Singular and Plural Nouns】

REGULAR NOUNS

1.      ADD –s

Most singular nouns form. 

普遍的情況

Things

Boats

Pens

Cats

Rivers

2.      ADD –es

2.1 A singular noun ending in s, x, z, ch,or sh.

Buses

Boxes

Wishes

Pitches

2.2  A singular noun ending in a ‘consonant + o’.

Mangoes

Heroes

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Echoes

3.      DROP –y; ADD –ies

3.1 A singular noun ending in ‘a consonant + y’.

Baby – babies

City – cities

Gallery – galleries

Country – countries

Lady – ladies

3.2 A singular noun ending in ‘a vowal + y/ makes the plural by just adding-s.

Boy – boys

Day – days

Monkey - monkeys

Play – plays

Joy – joys

4.      SINGULAR FORM = PLURAL FORM

Fish

Sheep

Deer

Species

Aircraft

IRREGULAR VERB/NOUN AGREEMENT

1.          Some nouns get a plural form but take a singular verb. 

眾數名詞跟單數動詞

News ... The news is about to start at 6:00 p.m.

Athletics ... Athletics is good for young people.

Linguistics ... Linguistics is the study of language.

Darts ... Darts is a popular game in England.

Billards ... Billards is popular among youngsters.

2.          Some nouns have a fixed plural form and take a plural verb. 

永遠是眾數樣貌的名詞

Trousers/Jeans ... My trousers are too tight.

Glasses/Spectacles ... Those glasses are mine.

Wages ... Minimum wages are set by the government.

Some other examples:

Thanks/Stairs/Congratulations/Wages

They are not used in the singular, or they have a different meaning in the singular. 

用單數的話，它們會有其他意思。

**IRREGULAR NOUNS**

我們就是要謹記一些不跟法規的英文。

There are some irregular noun plurals. The common ones are listed below.

Woman – women

Man – men

Child – children

Tooth – teeth

Foot – feet

Person – people

Leaf – leaves

Mouse – mice

Goose – geese

Half – halves

Knife – knives

Wife – wives

Life – lives

Elf – elves

Loaf – loaves

Focus – foci

Fungus – fungi

Nucleus – nuclei

Syllabus – syllabi

Analysis – analyses

Thesis – theses

Crisis – crises

Phenomenon – phenomena

Criterion – criteria

Datum – data

Brand new start

【RSVP】全寫

一些邀請函的最後部分，通常都會印有「RSVP」，意思即係叫你出唔出席都講聲啦。

原來RSVP來自法文「Répondez s'il vous plaît」。

【下款 Complimentary Close】

工作時一定會用到email，甚至會寫封tangible 的 信件。有人問我 “除了Regards, Best regards外，仲有咩下款可以用？” How to sign off an email?

下款的英文是Complimentary Close,  以下有些例子：

· Very truly yours,

· Yours truly,

· Respectfully,

· Sincerely yours,

· Yours sincerely,

· Sincerely,

· Best regards,

· Regards,

· Warm regards,

· With many thanks,

· Cordially, 

· Warm wishes, 

以上所有Complimentary Close都可以接受的，問題是如何選擇一個fit到自己封email或信？

前三個: "Very truly yours", "Yours truly", "Respectfully" 是正式的(formal)表達。"Sincerely yours"和"Yours sincerely" 沒有前三個那麽正式，但都正式。

最常用是"Sincerely"。所以如果你不知道哪個適合你, 用 "Sincerely" 吧!

現今的年代, "Best regards"已越來越普遍, 地位應該同 "Sincerely" 差唔多。"Regards" 明顯是 "Best regards" 的簡寫。但本人建議寫"Warm regards"或者"Best regards"。

"Cordially"的意思是"Warmly" 和"Sincerely", 但這個詞有點old school。可以用"Warm wishes"或 "Sincerely", 這兩個都給人溫暖而有禮的感覺。

最後, "Thank you"  是句子，不是下款。"Thank you" 會是你正文的一部分。

e.g.  Dear Mr. xxx, (上款)

          (正文)

        Thank you. 

        Best regards, (下款)

         Chan Tai Man (署名)

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QuoteShare #3

“You’ve got to write badly. If you write badly at least you’ve got something to rewrite. If you’re scared to write badly, then you’ve got nothing.”

- Tony Grisoni

【「Very乜乜乜」的同義詞 】

有時 "very" 這字已經被人濫用，間接令到學生詞彙量減少！

"very good" 原來可以說成 "superb"，而 "very tasty" 可被 "deliicious" 代替。

請細讀下表。

當然，上述的並不是唯一的配搭，例如 very large 也可以寫成 huge；very hungry 又可以寫成 starving 等等。有些字大家可能未見過，用之前查一查字典便萬無一失。

【Adverb of Frequency】

上面堆字係Adverbs（副詞），名為Adverbs of frequency。

例句：

100% I always go to bed before 11 pm.

90%     I usually have cereal for breakfast.

80%     I normally/generally go to the gym.

70%  I often surf the internet.

50%  I sometimes forget my wife's birthday.

30%  I occasionally eat junk food.

10%  I seldom read the newspaper.

5%       I hardly ever/rarely drink alcohol.

0%       I never swim in the sea.

這個adverb of frequency通常放在句子哪裡??? where should I put the adverb of frequency?

1/ Subject + adverb + main verb

- I always remember to do my homework.

- He normally gets good marks in exams.

2/ Subject + to be + adverb

- They are never pleased to see me.

- She isn't usually bad tempered.

3/ Subject + auxiliary verb* + adverb + main verb

- She can sometimes beat me in a race.

- I would hardly ever be unkind to someone.

- They might never see each other again.

(*什麼是auxiliary verb？can, may, will, should, must, etc)

注意

1。Usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally可以放句子開端

2。Always, seldom, rarely, hardly, ever, never不可以放句子開端。

3。問題和否定句用ever:

      Have you ever been to New Zealand?

      I haven't ever been to Switzerland. = I have never been Switzerland.

QuoteShare #2

“I cannot make my days longer, so I strive to make them better.”

- Paul Theroux

QuoteShare #1

“I can face anything but reality.”

- Allen Ginsberg, The Book of Martyrdom and Artifice

【Brisbane Writers Festival】

兩年前去了Brisbane Writers Festival，令我最印象深刻的是原來社會中有很多很不求回報，甚至願意自資出書的業餘作家。這些「非商業」的「不知名」作者在沒有規模宏大的宣傳下，卻更清楚地展示他們的熱誠和夢想。最後他們可能得不到金錢的回報，我相信他們會得到人生的富足。

在今時今日的金錢世界，有多少人還能為自己興趣而追夢？人生有限，我們訂立目標之餘，也要向夢想前進。

【「有名無實」】

nominal (adj.)           figurehead (n.)

                                                      有名無實的                  傀儡

1. CY is just a nominal head of Hong Kong.

1. 洋蔥鷹只是個有名無實的首長。

2. No individual can accept the position of the Chief Executive Officer as a mere figurehead. 

2. 任何人都不會接受一位傀儡特首。

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【How are you?的變種】

由細到大，我哋只學「How are you? I am fine, thank you. 」這句機械式打招呼開場白，其實還有很多變化的：

1. How do you do? 

2. How are things?

3. How are you doing?

4. How is it going?

5. How have you been? 

基本上你可以將以上五款歸類為"How are you?" 

其中3, 4, 5可以咁答：

Q: How are you doing? 

A: I'm doing great!

Q: How is it going? 

A: It's going well.

Q: How have you been? 

A: I've been doing great! / I have been good, thanks. / I've been a bit sick.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 「你最近搞緊乜？」

Q: What are you up to?

A: Just working / Nothing to do. 

黑人經常講的"What's up?" 我們又應如何回應？

Q: Yo! What's up?

A: Just the usual mate. / Nothing much, just working all day long. / Just the same old same old. = Same shit

希望幫到大家。

Cheers,

西人

［閒談］我認為最失敗的英文老師

被本地教師 (香港土生土長的) 考核英文口試極爲荒謬，考生的英文水平分分鐘比評分的那位高，但奈何他們是老師，我們是學生，必須接受。

我最看不起的是那些只懂批評你讀音和文法，但自己講英文時都錯漏百出的老師。

學生甲和學生乙正在考英文口試，學生甲面對外藉老師，學生乙則要面對土生土長的香港籍老師。兩名老師都有提及學生甲和學生乙表現優異和可改善的地方，但爲什麽兩名學生試後的心情會大不同？這位外籍老師習慣先評學生表現好的地方，繼而帶出可改善的地方，這樣令學生甲感覺 “舒服一點，覺得自己不錯，但都有改善空間。” 但香港籍老師靈敏地聽到學生乙錯語法，錯讀音，錯乜錯物，他自然地先評學生乙錯誤的地方，最後才帶出一兩個不錯的地方作總，這樣的評語令學生乙覺得自己表現強差人意，到最後才有正面評語。由此可見，正負評語的先後頗爲重要。不知你曾否是這個學生乙？你又是曾否遇過這位'本地老師'？

語言學和心理學是環環緊扣。人大了，自主學習能力高了，懂得分辨什麽是對什麽是錯。我們知道講英文時必會出現錯誤的讀音或語病，我們自然會有 ‘少講為妙，費事人笑’ 這個心態。學語文跟減肥一樣，是需要推動力和鼓勵 (MOTIVATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT) 去衝破這道心理障礙。老師們可以嘗試建立'應用'的意識去教授說話，而不要太在意公式化運用，不要將書面用法用於口語。如果導師們一而再再而三去打擊語言學習者的信心，誰會有心有力學習外語？一個人的英語水平不是看什麽考試成績，而是看你能否在全英文環境中表達自如，令整個溝通圓滿。現今每家學校都有口試，但口試的目的是要測試一下學生能否有效地運用該語言來溝通，而非用分數標簽學生的語言能力。

可悲的是，FLUENCY在很多老師眼中並不重要，有些更視它為一個BONUS分。我並不是說英文的AGREEMENT, TENSES等其他完素不重要，而是說話 (SPOKEN LANGUAGE) 時的流暢度 (FLUENCY) 是完成溝通的一大重點。記得有位教授跟我說過："You learn to speak and listen, you learn to write. Don’t worry." 老師的評語對學生學習進度有著深遠的影響，要老一輩教師改變教學方法有點癡人說夢話，我寄望新一輩英文老師不要讓 “多聼. 多講” 成爲廢話，了解一下説話的根本目的，齊心挽救香港不斷下降的英文水平。

【Time or Times?】

今朝收到同事抄送我的電郵有一句是這樣的：「...Thank you for your times today...」其實意思上大家明白，但有點樣衰！TIME既數到又數不到，怎樣分？與我們中文差不多，看看以下例子：

實在time

1. How many times have you been to Sydney? （你去過幾多次Sydney?）

2. I have been to Sydney four times. （我去過悉尼四次）

例1和例2的time=次數，「次數」可實在地數，所以time後可以加s。

抽象time

3. The students don`t have much time to complete the exam. （學生們沒有太多時間完成考試）

4. Time flies! （時間飛逝）

例3和例4的time代表時間，是種抽象的名詞，又不可加上量詞，此刻的time是數不到的，所以只能以singular form出現。

「Thank you for your time」（多謝你付出的時間）。這裡的「time」是抽象形，不能夠加s。

大家寫emails時可以留意一下。

Cheers!

西人

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補充：你可能有聽過：「How times have changed! 」沒錯，這裡的times代表一段時期或世代的意思～可以加s。

［閒談］美國人錯GRAMMAR？

最近我跟美國同事Mr. H和Miss. M通電話，其中有段對話是這樣的…

Miss M: I’ve written him a few emails but I think he just don’t get it.
Mr. H: Maybe we should wait for another weekend.
我: Sure…

這段對話很簡單，略懂英文的人就會細心發現Miss M犯了一個語病錯誤"...he just don't get it"。小學生都會話 "喂大佬，HE後面無可能用DON’T啦，小學生都知啦，鬼佬都錯?"

語言學家Coulmas (1989) 曾提及：寫作和説話是兩個不同的輸出系統，我們説話要流利是爲了建立人與人之間的互動 (FLUENCY MAKES INTERACTION)，而寫作重準確 (PRECISION)，所以有時候以英文為母語的人都會犯一些我們認爲是’難以置信’的錯誤。

學講外語不同於解數學題，你在解答一道數學題時，若中間過程出錯，那必定會影響最後的答案；但說話的目的是為了讓對方明白你所表達的內容，所以就算中間措詞有些許‘瑕疵’也不會影響到最終你所要傳達的意思 。Mr. H知道Miss. M講錯了，但他的大腦會告訴他，這些語病不影響溝通成效和結果 (OUTCOME) ，所以沒必要停下來。

"Grammar is important during a real conversation also. However, at that speed, you can't think about textbook rules."

學Grammer可以幫助溝通，但溝通講求流暢感和速度，若我們說英文時常常關注課本上那些Grammatical Rules，你會講得好嗎？你們上Oral Class的時候，你的英文老師會否太在意這些little mistakes? 考Oral時，你的英文老師會否因爲你有這些小錯而扣分？

西人

【點講 -- 噏到口唇邊】

有時候交談中會突然間忘記某字，然後我們會話：「唔好意思，噏到口唇邊！」但當你與外國人對話時遇到這情況，你點形容？"Sorry sir, I have just forgotten the word."或者有人會照譯！"the word is on my lip!"

NoNoNo～英文字不會在口唇邊，而是在舌尖。你可以咁講：

1. "Oh sorry! I have lost it on my tongue."

2. "The word is just sparkling at the end of my tongue."

這是「噏到口唇邊」的時刻。This is a tip-of-the-tongue moment.

萬一下次遇到類似情況，識做啦！

    picture retrieved from forums.oneplus.net